Todd Mckenzie | ... I'll Call You Back | CP001CD
01 | Beneath The Eyes Of... 02 | Communicay 03 | Max's Day Out 05 | Sometimes (it's all ok)
06 | As In Life You Are My Death 07 | ... Teary Eyes And Headphones 08 | Once To Die Twice To Live
09 | Unity
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Todd McKenzie delivers his first full-length album's worth of material.
As the first track you get the impressive soundscaping and textural sounding 'Beneath the eyes of...' which utilizes recorded telephone and answer phone calls to create a strangely haunting track as a perfect intro to the rest of the CD. A sad and melancholy feel pervades and it comes as a surprise to find the next cut, 'Communicay', dropping in with some fresh, down-tempo, but jazzed up beats and a half hip hop / half sung vocal. Clearly a fan of melody and atmosphere, he uses a sweeping sampled string section in the middle of the track that keenly emphasizes the melodic vocal to fine effect and provides a great counterpoint to the rapped vocals.
'Max's day out', by contrast is a simple, sweet instrumental built around the lilting piano, melodic strings and more found sound samples, this time of small children playing. This vocal element lends it a haunting feel that meshes perfectly with the beautiful musical elements to give it a slightly dark and disturbing feel.
'Sometimes (it's all ok)' is the undisputed anthem of the album with its catchy main vocal hook. But again, the sentiment of the track is one of melancholy, bringing to mind lost love, heartache and frustration. This is no simplistic teenage angst though as the feelings conjured up are genuine and certainly something we can all relate to, yet the funky beats and phased Rhodes piano licks manage to remain upbeat and infectious.
This is followed by the short interlude of 'As in life you are my death' which shows a keenly experimental side to Todd's work. Layers of sound and samples with electronic manipulation are dark, moody and make for a natural break between the tracks.
The last three tracks, '...Teary eyes and headphones', 'Once to die twice to live' and 'Unity' are predominantly downbeat hip hop instrumentals with a wide range of flavas, instruments and sampled vocal elements.
The end of 'Unity' with its plea of '...maybe there's something you can do to help' repeated to fade is particularly poignant and allows us to share in the strange sense of futility, mixed with hope that Todd clearly feels. The helplessness of life today... Feelings we can all identify with, yet Todd refuses to give up instead believing firmly that 'We are unique creatures and can rise above all this shit. We have the ability, just lack directoin'.
Ending the CD is an answer phone message which sums up the feelings conveyed throughout the rest of the CD, leaving us wanting more... wanting to help... wanting to say 'It's OK. Don't worry. I know how you feel'.
Refreshing. Refined. Subtle. Shimmering. Destined for big things. Todd McKenzie.